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Charles Mahoney
Irish Franciscan martyr
BlessedResearchedFranciscans
Feast: 4 May (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
1640
Died
12 August 1679
verified
Beatified
—
not on record
Canonised
—
not yet
Who they were
Charles Mahoney was an Irish Franciscan priest, under forty, driven ashore in Wales while trying to reach Ireland. He was seized, confessed that he was a priest, and was tried and condemned at Denbigh.
He was executed in his habit at Ruthin on 12 August 1679. In his last words he praised God for letting him die for his religion, forgave his captors and prayed for them and for the king.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A Franciscan who forgave those who put him to death for his priesthood.
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Charles Mahony
- Wikidata Q5080595 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Charles Mahoney (martyr) (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.